GPS detection of the instantaneous response of the global ionosphere to strong magnetic storms with sudden commencement

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E. L. Afraimovich
E. A. Kosogorov
L. A. Leonovich
O. S. Lesyuta
I. I. Ushakov

Abstract

Using a new technology for global GPS detection of ionospheric disturbances, GLOBDET, it has been established that a drastic increase in the time derivative of the magnetic field strength during magnetic storms is accompanied by an almost simultaneous decrease in mid-latitude total electron content on the entire dayside. The corresponding correlation coefficient is not below -0.8; the delay with respect to the time of a magnetic storm sudden commencement is about 3-10 min. This is most pronounced for magnetic storms with a well-marked sudden storm commencement. The sudden storm commencements presented in the paper were observed during the initial storm phase. The analysis reported here was made for a set of from 90 to 300 GPS stations for 10 days in 1998-2001 with a different level of geomagnetic activity (Dst from -6 nT to -295 nT, and K p from 0 to 9). The «simultaneous» total electron content response for the events under consideration was 0.1-0.4 TECU, and the travel velocity of the disturbance from the dayside to the nightside was in the order of 10-20 km/s. Results obtained are consistent with earlier ionospheric parameter measurements obtained using high temporal resolution methods.

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How to Cite
Afraimovich, E. L., Kosogorov, E. A., Leonovich, L. A., Lesyuta, O. S. and Ushakov, I. I. (2002) “GPS detection of the instantaneous response of the global ionosphere to strong magnetic storms with sudden commencement”, Annals of Geophysics, 45(1). doi: 10.4401/ag-3490.
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